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SunTrust and Capital One say the RMA-CRC is an objective measure of credit knowledge and aptitude.
RM credit risk certification (CRC) is widely considered to be the industry's premier designation for the commercial credit risk professional. To date, more than 800 candidates have passed the CRC exam. Two banks, Capital One and SunTrust, use the RMA-CRC as an integral part of their training curriculum for experienced credit professionals.
RMA-CRC Helps Capital One Create a Common Credit Culture
After Capital One acquired three banks during the 2005-08 period, creating a Capital One credit culture became a priority.
"Each bank had a long history of success in commercial banking, but each had its own culture, lending specialties, and approval process. They were very different organizations," said Patrick Hickey, CRC, senior vice president and head of credit policy and training.
"Since then, we've done a lot of work in Capital One to create a credit culture. We've created common credit policies, we've trained people, and we've communicated our changes and practices to get everyone on the same page," he said.
One piece of the framework used to create a common credit culture is RMA's credit risk certification (RMA-CRC).
"We decided to use the CRC exam as an objective, third-party measure of a person's technical skills," Hickey said. "We're spread out from New York to Texas, so it's tough to personally assess every person in the credit chain in a timely way. We think this third-party measure allows us to jump-start that effort."
The RMA-CRC designation is one part of a three-pronged effort at Capital One to evaluate associates already holding or being evaluated for credit authority, the other two parts being product training specific to Capital One and personal evaluations by managers.
Capital One incorporated the RMA-CRC as a formal part of its credit-training program in the summer of 2010. To date, 41 Capital One associates have earned the right to put CRC after their names. The CRC exam is valuable, Hickey said, because it tests not only book knowledge, but also credit judgment that comes only with experience.
"Experience is really critical in assessing risk," Hickey noted. "We want people who can analyze the entirety of the credit, and so five years' experience is the...